This invention relates to the field of mail processing, and more particularly, this invention relates to the field of correcting articles of mail during mail processing.
The routing and delivering of articles of mail, whether performed by the United States Post Office, United Parcel Service or other private mail and/or parcel delivery company, is increasingly becoming more efficient and streamlined. Often, mail handling is automated through complicated and efficient mail sorting and handling equipment. To expedite the processing, handling and delivery of mail, it has become more common to position identifying indicia on the front and/or rear side of a mail piece or package to expedite processing. Examples of these indicia are the various ID tags that are sprayed by ink jetting onto the rear side of mail pieces, such as envelopes or other bundled packages that are held together by tabs. Other identifying indicia, such as a bar code, are also printed, such as by ink jetting, onto the front side of the mail pieces or packages to assist in mail routing. An ID code, bar code and/or any other identifying indicia, whether placed on the front or rear sides of packages or mail pieces, are used for internal routing within the post office and mail delivery at the route level. These identifying indicia help identify the mail to the sender or delivery agent, help route the mail, and help in tracking the mail, whether the mail is a bulk item or individual mail piece.
However, as is common today, thousands of mail pieces are either not delivered because the mail pieces are misrouted, or the mail pieces arrive late because of poor misrouting. Some mail pieces have to be returned to the sender. As of now, the United States Post Office, or other similar mail delivery services, must cover any identifying indicia, such as a bar code or ID tag, with a label, which could subsequently be sprayed with a new bar code. If both sides of a mail piece must be covered, then two processing steps are required to affix a label to either side of the mail piece. For example, if an article of mail, such as an envelope, has a bar code on the front side, and an ID code on the rear side, the mail service will cover the incorrect bar code with a label, and then pass the article of mail under a printhead that is electronically controlled by a computer and database to print the proper information, such as a new identifying indicia or a new bar code. Then, the article of mail will be processed twice in two steps by flipping the mail piece over and applying another label on the rear side to cover the incorrect ID code or other identifying indicia so that any subsequent mail processing of the ID code, bar code, or other identifying matter, will be neutralized and not used in subsequent mail processing. Also, the labels will cover any noise, which hinders optical character recognition. This type of double pass/double label application is inefficient, and adds much time and expense to mail processing.
It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide a one-step process that corrects an article of mail and neutralizes indicia that are positioned on the article of mail.
It is yet another object of the present invention to neutralize noise, bar codes, and identifying indicia on an article of mail with minimum processing.
In accordance with the present invention, a method of correcting an article of mail comprises the step of feeding an article of mail into a mail correcting station. The article of mail comprises a mail piece having opposing sides and an edge and identifying indicia positioned on at least one of the sides adjacent an edge. A dual neutralizing mask is applied onto at least a substantial portion of the edge and overlaps the opposing sides in an area adjacent the edge to cover at least a major portion of the identifying indicia to correct the article of mail, such that the indicia is neutralized and cannot be used in subsequent mail processing.
In one aspect of the present invention, return-to-sender information is printed on the dual neutralizing mask on at least one overlapping side of the mask. The method can also comprise the step of printing informational indicia on the dual neutralizing mask on at least one overlapping side of the mask. This indicia could be bar codes, printed dots, or any other identifying indicia that could be suggested or known by those skilled in the art. This identifying indicia can be printed by ink jetting the informational indicia on the at least one overlapping portion of the mask.
In still another aspect of the present invention, the mail is oriented about a predetermined angle of orientation prior to the step of applying the dual neutralizing mask on the mail piece. This dual neutralizing mask can be provided as a flexible, self-adhesive member that is adhesively attached to the opposing sides of the mail piece along the edge. It can be supplied from a supply roll where the flexible, self-adhesive member is positioned on a carrier web and peeled therefrom during processing.
In yet another aspect of the present invention, the method of correcting articles comprises the step of feeding a plurality of articles of mail successively into a mail correcting station. Each of the articles of mail comprise a mail piece having opposing sides and an edge and an identifying indicia positioned on at least one of the sides adjacent the edge. The dual neutralizing mask is applied onto each of the mail pieces by applying the dual neutralizing mask onto at least a substantial portion of the edge to overlap opposing sides in an area adjacent the edge, while covering at least a major portion of the identifying indicia to correct the mail piece such that the identifying indicia is neutralized and cannot be used in subsequent mail processing. The mail pieces can comprise intermixed pieces of mail having a plurality of different widths, lengths, and thicknesses, and a commonly oriented side on which the dual neutralizing mask is applied. The articles of mail can be fed from a mail bin where the articles of mail are stacked.
In still another aspect of the present invention, an article of mail includes a mail piece having opposing sides and an edge. Indicia corresponding to a post office code is positioned on at least one of the sides adjacent an edge. A dual neutralizing mask overlaps at least a substantial portion of the edge and covers the opposing sides in an area adjacent the edge and covers at least a major portion of the indicia for correcting the article of mail such that the indicia is neutralized and cannot be used in subsequent mail processing. This dual neutralizing mask can comprise an elongate and flexible, self-adhesive member that is adhesively attached to the opposing sides adjacent and along the edge. The edge of the mail pieces defines a longitudinal edge and the dual neutralizing mask extends a distance greater than half the length of the mail piece along the edge. The mail piece can comprise an envelope and the indicia can comprise printed indicia, such as a bar code. Return-to-sender information is printed on the dual neutralizing mask on at least one side that overlaps the mask.
In another aspect of the present invention, the mail piece defines front and rear sides with a bar code printed on the front side adjacent the edge and an ID code printed on the rear side adjacent the edge. Both the bar code and ID code are substantially neutralized by the dual neutralizing mask of the present invention.
In still another aspect of the present invention, the article of mail can comprise a mail package having opposing sides and an edge. Indicia corresponding to a post office code is positioned on at least one of the sides adjacent an edge. A dual neutralizing mask overlaps at least a substantial portion of the edge and covers the opposing sides in an area adjacent the edge and covers at least a major portion of the indicia for correcting the article of mail such that the indicia is neutralized and cannot be used in subsequent mail processing.